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Britain Appoints Minister of Loneliness

January 17, 2018 5:50 PM

VOA News

FILE - A man sits by himself at a bus stop in London, Oct. 18, 2013. Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt said at the time that there were hundreds of thousands of people in England who were chronically lonely. A "minister of loneliness" has now been appointed to combat social isolation.

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Britain Appoints Minister of Loneliness

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Britain has appointed a minister of loneliness to combat social isolation experienced by one in 10 Britons.

Sports Minister Tracey Crouch will add the job to her existing portfolio to advance the work of slain lawmaker Jo Cox, who set up the Commission on Loneliness in 2016.

"For far too many people, loneliness is the sad reality of modern life," Prime Minister Theresa May said Wednesday. "I want to confront this challenge for our society and for all of us to take action to address the loneliness endured by the elderly, by carers, by those who have lost loved ones — people who have no one to talk to or share their thoughts and experiences with."

The British Red Cross says more than 9 million Britons describe themselves as being always or often lonely, out of a population of 65.6 million.

Most people over age 75 in Britain live alone, and about 200,000 older people have not had a conversation with a friend or relative in more than a month, government data show.

"We know that there is a real impact of social isolation and loneliness on people, on their physical and mental well-being but also on other aspects in society, and we want to tackle this challenge," Crouch told the BBC.